Office of the Historian

751G.94/17: Telegram

The Chargé in France (Murphy) to the Secretary of State

Vichy, August 7, 1940—10 p.m.
[Received August 7—12:30 p.m.]

278. Chauvel tells me this evening that the Gaimusho19 has now taken great pains to explain to Arsene-Henry that the Japanese communication regarding Indochina should by no means be construed as an ultimatum. The Foreign Office is advising Saint-Quentin that the Japanese have expressed the desire to enter into negotiations regarding the matter and have assured the French Government of their wish to avoid a conflict.20

Murphy
  1. The Japanese Foreign Office.↩
  2. On August 8 the French Counselor of Embassy made similar statements to the Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (751G.94/41).↩